It's Good That I Returned to Earth, But...
It's Good That I Returned to Earth, But...
It's good to have returned to Earth, but...
I continued my daily life for a few days, imitating the female version of myself from before I took over as much as possible.
Hmm, no matter what I do, I need mana first. Right now, without mana, I'm nothing more than a girl whose memories and ego have been eroded by an old man's...
Earth has no mana, but that doesn't mean there's no way to obtain it at all.
One of the methods non-mages use to produce mana on their own: converting biological vitality into mana. Commonly known as the Vitality Conversion Method.
Using that method, even though the efficiency is abysmally poor, I can still get my hands on mana somehow.
In the other world, it was a method that was nearly obsolete, pushed aside by the overwhelming efficiency of the Mana Cultivation Method... But on Earth, where mana doesn't exist in nature, there's no other option, so it's the best I can use right now.
The problem is... the abysmal efficiency of this Vitality Conversion Method, the considerable strain it puts on the body, and...
"Honey, are you on a diet these days? Your face looks like it's shrunk to half its size."
...the fact that I'm losing an enormous amount of weight.
At my mother's worried question, I pulled out the female persona within me as much as possible and answered naturally.
"It's fine. I made sure to eat properly even when I was holed up in my room. What's done is done."
My mother was worried because, before I took over, the female me had bombed the college entrance exam and locked herself in her room for about a week.
To that worried remark, I forced a calm demeanor and moved my chopsticks.
Since this technique burns vitality—in other words, the calories stored in the body—and converts them into mana, it's only natural that those stored calories are consumed rapidly.
If I don't forcibly replenish the consumed calories, it wouldn't be strange to collapse at any moment. So I have no choice but to eat a lot.
"Eat a little more. I made your favorite bean sprouts, too."
At my mother's words, I forced a bitter smile and swallowed the bean sprouts along with the rice.
Mmm. This taste. My mother's taste, which I loved the most. A taste I had missed dearly.
Only then did I truly feel that I had come home.
Even if it wasn't my original body.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
So, if I think about my plans going forward...
Until I've gathered a minimum amount of mana and it settles into my body, I'll continuously use the Vitality Conversion Method to squeeze out mana, while also doing at least minimal physical training... Well, it can't really be called training. All I can manage is light jogging.
That's how weak and exercise-deprived this body is. It's been a life far removed from physical activity.
Even if I've become a frail female student's body, if there's a way to stay healthy without constant minor illnesses, there's no reason not to do it. I'll exercise while gathering mana.
And... hmm. I'd like to separate the fused female personality if possible, but mental magic consumes a lot of mana, so in the current situation, it's impossible even if decades pass.
As expected, mana deficiency is the biggest problem. It's not an environment rich in mana like the other world, so the Mana Cultivation Method is out of the question. There are no Magic Stones either, so stone doping is impossible too. Hmm.
The mana part is a long-term issue. Let's set it aside for now.
Aside from that... university admission. I bombed the entrance exam, so getting into a Seoul university was impossible, but instead, I've been accepted to a decent private university in Busan.
Why is it that the first thought that comes to mind is, "Do I really have to go to college?"
I know I need at least the label of a university to live in this land of South Korea without being looked down on, but from my perspective—having been dragged to the other world before even getting a diploma—I wonder if it's really necessary.
But if I say I'm not going to college... I'm worried my parents will be disappointed.
Hmm. Should I just retake the exam? If I gather enough mana, I can use it to enhance my intelligence or wisdom.
Still, I'm not sure if I, an old man, should decide the life of this female version of me on my own. In a sense, we're the same person, so maybe I could just let it slide... but I don't want to do that. I'm already satisfied enough with returning home as I wished.
Alright. Since I'm the tenant who moved into this body, I should guide her toward the best possible life!
Even though I look like this, I'm an old man over eighty! I have more than enough life experience and all that!
Well, now that my ego has merged with that of a young woman, my thinking feels a bit lighter and more immature... but the experience and memories still remain.
So.
"I think I'll go check out the university I got into."
"The one you got into? By yourself?"
"Yeah. I'm not a little kid anymore."
Just because I was a bit sickly when I was young doesn't mean I should still be treated like a child now, right, Mom? I even took the college entrance exam.
Thanks to that, even when I was a guy, I never rode an intercity bus alone until I graduated high school.
"But will you be okay? Busan is pretty far..."
"It's fine. It's only about an hour by bus."
I'll just take the bus, doze off for a bit, and I'll be there.
"I want to go see the university I got into and look around a bit."
And if it doesn't feel satisfactory enough... I can either retake the exam or cancel my admission, whatever. So.
"I'll go this weekend."
"Is that so? I'd like to go with you, but..."
"Didn't you say you're going on a trip with your friends from the wives' club, accompanied by Dad, this Saturday? I can go alone."
My mother looked at me with a worried expression for a moment, then reluctantly nodded.
"Alright. If that's what you want. Do you have enough money?"
"I still have some allowance saved up, so it's fine. Dad gives me a generous allowance."
When I was a guy, I never received this much allowance... Is it because I'm a girl now? My father really gives me a lot.
Well, girls do have many places where money goes out.
"Okay. Then promise me a few things."
"A few things?"
"Yes. First, it's fine to just look around the university and have fun, but come back before evening. And don't follow anyone you don't know if they ask you to hang out. Answer when Mom or Dad calls. Don't do anything dangerous. And also..."
"I'm not a little kid. Don't worry."
Just because I locked myself in my room and cried for a week after bombing the entrance exam, she's treating me like a child.
Well, spending a whole week crying and locking myself in my room was certainly a cause for concern...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
So, I left home, took an intercity bus to Busan, followed the directions on my smartphone, and arrived at the target university.
"It's a mountain... completely..."
It was more of a hiking trail than a university.
No joke or exaggeration; elderly people in hiking gear were actually climbing the steep uphill slope side by side with young college students. That says it all.
Even if people joke that most schools in this country are built against a mountain to absorb its energy... this is a bit much.
Well, the university itself doesn't seem too bad... I heard it was considered a prestigious university back in the day.
Hmm. Well, going here wouldn't be a loss... but for the sake of the female me's future, I think it's better to build up as good an academic background as possible.
There's still plenty of time. I should take it slow and plan out the future.
"Excuse me... Are you a new student?"
I turned my head toward the voice coming from behind.
A young male college student was smiling faintly and talking to me.
"I'd like to be left alone, so don't mind me."
Just by putting a hint of cold killing intent in my eyes, the man flinched in fear and slowly started to back away.
If it were the female me, she might have been a little nervous but also slightly pleased that an unknown man had approached her. But right now, I'm eighty percent an old grandfather in his eighties.
Even though I look like this, I was once married and had a wife. Interest from a guy is nothing but annoying.
After roughly looking around the university like that, I started walking.
It's not a bad place, but I still have some lingering attachment to a better choice. It wouldn't hurt to think a bit more.
So for now... it's a little late, but it's lunchtime, so I'll get something to eat.
I thought about eating at the student cafeteria, but I can't be bothered. I'll buy a cup noodle and a triangle kimbap from a convenience store to fill my stomach.
I bought a spicy cup noodle without soup, filled it with hot water, microwaved the triangle kimbap, then sat by the window, watching the surroundings while waiting for the noodles to cook.
Even though the new semester hasn't started yet, the campus is lively with young college students bustling about.
Enjoying college life again in a place like this wouldn't be half bad. It might fall short of a Seoul university in academic prestige, but academic background isn't everything in life.
Spring hasn't arrived yet, but thanks to the slightly warmer weather, it feels okay to eat outside. Alright. I'll eat outside. There's an outdoor terrace, after all.
Lost in such idle thoughts, I took out the sufficiently heated triangle kimbap from the microwave, drained the water from the well-cooked cup noodle, added the sauce, mixed it, and was about to carry it out to the outdoor terrace when—
"Kkieeek..."
A grating animal-like sound came from somewhere.
The direction was near the convenience store's outdoor terrace. A slightly secluded alley between the university buildings.
There, a dark, oval-shaped object floated in the air, and from within it, a very familiar creature was emerging.
Small stature, hunched back, green skin, a small humanoid monster.
A Goblin.
Before returning to Earth, when I was living in the other world as a fledgling adventurer trying to make a living, this was the beginner monster I beat down hard.
And that Goblin was now appearing on Earth.
"Kkieeeeeeeek!!!"
That black thing... it's a bit different from the one I crossed over through, but is it a Gate?
I quickly looked around. Fortunately, thanks to the secluded path, there was no one coming or going, and the convenience store part-timer seemed too busy stocking shelves to hear the Goblin's cry.
To be honest, a healthy adult can take down a Goblin just by kicking it with full force. But still, a monster is a monster. It's more than capable of hurting people.
I drew out my faint mana, reinforced the wooden chopsticks in my hand and my legs, then rushed toward the Goblin, which still didn't understand its situation.
It was an ordinary wooden chopstick, but reinforced with mana, it had strength comparable to a steel dagger.
The Goblin, which had set foot in a strange world, had its forehead pierced by the wooden chopstick I thrust into it, and I kicked its body back toward the Gate.
Then, the Goblin's kicked body quickly turned into black ash and scattered, while the Gate gradually shrank and vanished in an instant.
The sudden encounter ended just as suddenly.
"Ah... my wooden chopsticks..."